Sunday, June 22, 2014

The Hundred Acre Website: A Guide to Disney Class Registration

POOH
One of the coolest things about doing the Disney College program is that you have the opportunity to take Disney-specific classes with other DCPers! The only downside is that the HUNDRED ACRE WEBSITE for course registration is filled with HEFFALUMPS and WOOZLES that will try to snatch your HONEY classes out from underneath your browser! The best way to prevent that from happening and to keep your POT of classes safe is to THINK, THINK, THINK and prepare for the registration! Otherwise you'll be mumbling OH BOTHER through the online registration process!



OWL
First off, make like OWL and read! Find out all the information you can about the course before registration begins. All basic information is found on the DCP on-boarding website (http://cp.disneycareers.com/en/onboarding/fl/education/online-course-reg/). This website has the description and syllabus for every class. There are two types of classes: 1) Collegiate Courses are classes where you can obtain college credit for taking them. They span 3.5 to 4 hours a week and there will be take home assignments for those classes. If you need credit for school, that's what you should be looking at. 2) The Disney Exploration Series are seminars that take place once a week for 2 hours. You CANNOT get college credit for these seminars. They are meant for DCPers who want to learn more about the Disney Company without the hassle of assignments. 3) Professional Studies Courses are courses meant for specific majors. If you do not have a major relevant to the course, you will not be allowed to take it. These are for college credit.

Collegiate Courses
Advanced Studies in Hospitality Management
Corporate Analysis
Corporate Communication
Creativity and Innovation
Experiential Learning
Human Resources Management
Interactive Learning Program
Marketing You
Organizational Leadership

Disney Exploration Series
Exploring Disney Heritage
Exploring Guest Service
Exploring Leadership
Exploring Marketing
Exploring Cast Engagement and Human Resources

Professional Development Studies
Engineering
Entertainment Show Production
Finance
Security


PIGLET
Take a look at all the syllabus to decide in advance which classes are right for you! You may be a
FRIGHTFULLY FEARFUL ANIMAL when it comes to deciding, so to help, there is a quiz on the website that will assist you in finding out which classes you should take. If you are unsure about classes, Be BRAVER THAN YOU BELIEVE and leap into Disney University! This is your only opportunity to take classes taught by real Disney professionals in Disney World. You can't ask for a much better deal than that! Oh and on top of everything, the courses are FREE! All you pay for are materials that are assigned to the class - but no tuition! OH D-D-D-D-DEAR! Did you ever think you would hear that without having a scholarship?

RABBIT
In order to find out registration time, you might need to leave the comfort of your RABBIT HOLE and go exploring. I personally did not receive an advance e-mail about course registration. As a Fall  Cast Member, I needed to register June 23rd at 12:00 a.m. I found out this information through the DCP Facebook pages. A lot of future cast members called Disney Recruiting to find out the date and time for registration because it was not posted on the website until the day of registration. So pick up your GARDENING TOOLS and DIG for that registration date. Otherwise you'll find yourself shorthanded on carrots classes.

TIGGER
When the clock rolls around to registration time you need to POUNCE on those classes. I wanted to register for two courses: Disney Heritage and Cast Engagement. The Disney Heritage Course is known for filling up right away. If you want to get into that class, HOP to it and register as soon as the registration is open. I know a lot of people that could not take courses they wanted because they were already filled to capacity.



When you first go on to the website for registration (http://www.disneynow.com/profile/web/index.cfm?PKWebId=0x120664133) It will have the season of registration listed along with which arrival dates can register. Click on "register for a class." Once you click that, the orange circle of death will likely show up on your screen unless you are extremely lucky. That circle will say that the server is busy but the page will keep loading automatically. It does load automatically so don't keep refreshing the page. I had the orange circle for about 7 minutes before I finally got through. It is definitely NOT BOUNCY TROUNCY FLOUNCY POUNCY FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN - it's quite nerve wracking.


Once it loads, you will be asked to type in your last name and your e-mail and submit. When you hit submit, there is a chance the page will say the server is busy and you will need to reload. That happened to me a few times after submitting my e-mail. It's a little stressful, but there isn't much you can do but reload the page and wait. So just breath and let the HUNDRED ACRE WEBSITE do it's thing.



When you finally get through, it will ask for your cell phone number. Include the dashes in the number when you type it in. It will also ask which program you are involved in.Then submit it and it will bring you to the next page.








The next page has a description of all the courses available. If you already did your research and know what you want to take, just BOUNCE right over that page and move on. It will save you time and give you a better chance of getting into your classes. Then Disney will ask for what your interested in. This is not the course registration page. It's a page to bring up classes that match the interests checked off. Just check every box instead of sifting through to save time and all the courses will show up after clicking submit.


Once all the courses show up, any time available will be listed there. If there are no times available, there will be a way to put yourself on a wait list for that course. Check off the times of each course you would like to register for. I did Disney Heritage Mondays 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. and Cast Engagement and Human Resources Tuesdays 8:30 - 10:30 a.m. I set them up for different days because I didn't want an awkward 5 hour gap between classes. It would be difficult to do things on days off if I had two classes five hours apart, so I just put them for separate days. Keep in mind that having class one day does not guarantee you the day off from work - you can still be scheduled for a shift as soon as two hours after your class is over.


Once I picked the available classes, I submitted them and received a confirmation of the classes I was registered for. I also received an e-mail confirming them
as well. Make sure you check for that e-mail! If you don't get the confirmation e-mail, something likely went wrong in the registration process.

After that, you're all finished. You can kiss the hundred acre website good-bye. Or if you plan on changing anything, just say TTFN - TA TA FOR NOW!

Treasure Planet: Disney's Mission Timekeeper

If you're on a mission to uncover the treasures of Disney knowledge and pass some time before the Disney College Program, then hop aboard the RLS LEGACY and blast off into Disney's Mission Timekeeper! 

To play Mission Timekeeper, just enter missiontimekeeper.com into the web browser. Once opened, there will be a button that says "Launch." Click that button and wait for the log-in page to load. This takes a full minute - Jim Hawkins probably got to Treasure Planet faster than the timekeeper loads. 




Once launched, the timekeeper will ask you for a login e-mail and password. Like BILLY BONES GAVE JIM HAWKINS THE TREASURE MAP, Disney has given you the resources you need to obtain Captain Flint's treasure! The log-in is the e-mail you use to receive e-mails from the college program. The password will be your seven-digit candidate ID that you received in your acceptance letter. If you don't have your acceptance letter anymore, you can also find it in the "Program Fees" notice in your Disney dashboard. 



Once you've logged in, there will be a whole universe of planets to explore on the map, similar to MONTRESSOR, THE CORAL GALAXY, SIGNUS CROSS, AND CARIANNE ABYSS. However, the timekeeper planets are titled a little differently. You can explore nine different planets including...

Innovations
Walt Disney's Life
Disney Cruise Line
Film and Television
Animation
Characters
Parks and Resorts
Conservation
Consumer Products




Each planet offers information on different aspects of the title. For example, Walt Disney's Life is surrounded by smaller planets titled "Risks and Adventures," "Early Years," and "Disney Bros. Studios." Each smaller planet is home to videos, pictures, and fun facts! You can earn points for viewing Disney information. You can also earn points for clicking on "Hidden Mickey Ears" throughout your travels. It's like discovering CAPTAIN FLINT'S HIDDEN TREASURE - you have a whole slew of Disney knowledge and like everything else with Disney, it all starts with (the click of) a mouse!